Militants Blow Up Gas Pipeline in Southeast Turkey

Ankara, Turkey (Sputnik) — A group of militants attacked a natural gas pipeline in Turkey’s southeastern Kars province which resulted in an explosion, local media reported.

On late Monday, some 20 militants attacked the pipeline from two points, the Turkey’s Daily Sabah newspaper said.

The attacks were carried out by the militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Governor of Kars, Gunay Ozdemir was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

The PKK is an insurgent group founded in the late 1970s to establish self-determination for the Kurdish community. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara.

In late July, an oil pipeline was attacked in the Turkish eastern province of Sırnak, near the border with Iraq, preceded by several insurgent attacks.

The security situation in Turkey deteriorated following a suicide bombing in the Turkish border city of Suruc on July 20. The attack killed at least 32 people, most of them Kurds. The notorious ISIL militant group was implicated in the attack.

Two days later, two police officers were murdered in the southern Turkish city of Ceylanpinar. The PKK claimed responsibility for the assassinations, claiming the law enforcement allegedly backed ISIL.